Man arrested over uranium found at Heathrow

A man has been arrested under terrorism laws after traces of uranium were found in a cargo package at Heathrow Airport, police said. Border Force officers found the

radioactive material with a shipment of scrap metal on December 29 which, according to the Sun newspaper, had originated in Pakistan and was bound for Iranians in the

UK. Police in Cheshire detained the man, in his 60s, on Saturday under Section nine of the Terrorism Act. He has been bailed until April. Commander Richard

Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “I want to be clear that despite making this arrest, and based on what we currently know, this incident still does not

appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public. “However, detectives are continuing with their inquiries to ensure this is definitely the case.” Officers said

they did not find any other dangerous material at the address in Cheshire but the offence the man is accused of relates to the making or possession of radioactive

material. A spokesperson from the Met said the uranium was found during “routine screening” at Heathrow. Mr Smith added: “The discovery of what was a very small amount

of uranium within a package at Heathrow Airport is clearly of concern, but it shows the effectiveness of the procedures and checks in place with our partners to detect this type

of material. “Our priority since launching our investigation has been to ensure that there is no linked direct threat to the public. To this end, we are following every

possible line of enquiry available to us, which has led us to making this arrest over the weekend.”